well, as of late, I've had my computer connected to my 54" rear projection tv )) via the composite-out part of my vivo gfx card. so that works out fine and dandy, I have good enough eye sight to be able to read most stuff with the font size turned up, and video looks amazing, but I want better resolution so I can do anything besides video and games. the tv itself is htdv with a max of 1080i (dur, it's hdtv) via component, nothing better really. so basically I'm wondering if it's possible to hax together a cable of some sort that goes from the vga port on my computer to the component input on my tv so I can do hdtv and have a much better resolution witout spending a ton to get a card with rca ports to do native component out. so is it possible? or will I have to pay some small amount and just get an svideo cable and live with that?
I'm not entirely sure, but I'm sure I've seen a d-sub to four BNC connectors cable on an old monitor at work. Is this what you're after (I've never got my head round composite stuff so I could be on a wrong 'un here)
it's just got rca for component (not bnc) the vga -> 4/5 bnc is still vga (only the pins i absolutely needs (rgb, vsync), for old monitors at least, new ones can do sync-on-green, so you'd only need 3 connectors)
Component, VGA, and RGB are basically the same thing. The problems arise in the details. The number of signal lines can vary. 3, 4, and 5 are common (ignoring control lines and ground). 3 means that the syncs are combined and then combined with the green line (sync-on-green). 4 means that the syncs are combined. 5 means that the syncs are separate. 5 lines is the most common for VGA. Your projector most likely is 3 line. Fortunately, converting 5 lines to 4 lines or 3 lines is pretty simple. Going back is harder. What video card do you have? Many new cards support 4 line and/or 3 line (as well as 5 line) VGA. Just buy a DVI to component adapter if your video card supports it. It should have a chip to set the video card to the correct resolution. VGA to component cables are available as well. As for your projector using RCA connectors, you can buy RCA to BNC adapters. Oh, and last but not least: You'll probably burn through projector bulbs very quickly if you use it frequently! Check the cost of replacement bulbs!
it's a rear projection tv anyway, since most hdtv signals are Y,Pb,Pr, will it autodetect that I want to do rbg as opposed to YPbPr? anyway, I'd just go from the rgb from vga to the component on the tv (dvi has the analog signals as well, so it doesn't really matter which I use) also, what should the refresh rates be? since it's a tv, I'd expect it to be different than whatever I'd use for a monitor. and for that matter, what resolution? it should be something*1080, I just don't know what the something is..
There's still going to be a bulb inside, as is with all projectors. 1080i is 1920x1080. The refresh rate should be 60Hz. The easiest solution is to buy a DVI to component adapter specially made for this purpose (many ATi cards support it). You should be able to make it work without tweaking the XFree86config file.
http://www.htpcnews.com/main.php?id=transcoder_1 Some useful info there if you have a ati card with dvi then the ati adapter would probely do the trick just nicly
damn, I have an nvidia card :/ oh well, thanks for your help anyway it's a crt rear projection btw (I can look inside and see them...)
At a local store (Sam's), I have seen a LCD projector (front projection) connected to a DVD player. I wondered how they connected the VGA input to the DVD player and all there is is a cable. A component to VGA cable, that is. I'm pretty certain that there are no circuits in the cable. It's reverse from your situation but it should work the other way. Now, I have a need to connect a DVD player to a monitor. I'll see if a component to VGA cable can be purchased from Fry's and whether or not it can be used the other way around.